Rain hampers sewage treatment in Coquille
The city of Coquille has issued a warning that due to recent rainfall it s unable to adequately treat sewage. That means a bypass system is in effect, allowing raw sewage and stormwater to pass into the Coquille River untreated, a press release said....
 0.9K - Oct. 27, 2009; scored 215.0 State lists toxins posing risks to people
PORTLAND(AP) The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a list of persistent pollutants in state waters that pose a danger to fish and people. Mandated by the Legislature, the list of 118 pollutants issued Tuesday was developed by co...
0.4K - Oct. 21, 2009; scored 196.0 Pacific Seafood to appeal fine
PORTLAND (AP) The West Coast s biggest seafood processor says it will appeal a $40,000 state fine for failing to clean up the waste from its plant on the Newport waterfront. Pacific Seafood issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging minor...
0.9K - Oct. 8, 2009; scored 196.0 City might have legal right to cut sewer service
The Coquille Tribe doesn t think the city can do it. But a representative of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality says the city of North Bend, in its lawsuit against the tribe, just might be able to legally shut off sewer services to The Mi...
4.3K - Sep. 30, 2009; scored 1000.0 Lakeside council is doing its job
I have served on the Lakeside City Council the past three years through the good and bad. Recently, I ve been contacted by citizens with their concerns printed in the North County News, and rumors flying around town about council business. I may have...
2.5K - Sep. 25, 2009; scored 229.0 Recession benefit: Less Oregon garbage
PORTLAND (AP) If there are silver linings to the recession, Department of Environmental Quality officials say this might be one: Oregon s per person waste generation dropped by 9 percent in 2008. The drop is the largest since the state began tracki...
0.7K - Sep. 10, 2009; scored 220.0 Toxic algae a suspect in Elkton dog deaths
ELKTON (AP) Toxic algae may be to blame for the mysterious deaths of four dogs near Elkton. Technicians with the state Department of Environmental Quality took water samples at six locations along Elk Creek this week. The samples are being analyze...
1.8K - Sep. 4, 2009; scored 248.0 Concerns over state's plan for Ore. herbicide dump
PORTLAND (AP) A proposed agreement between Oregon environmental regulators and Bayer CropScience over the costs of monitoring and future cleanup at one of the state s most contaminated dump sites is drawing criticism. The proposal would make taxpay...
4.1K - Sep. 3, 2009; scored 363.0 Police still unsure why dogs died
The Douglas County Sheriff s Office still is investigating the suspicious deaths of two dogs who died near Elk Creek and the Umpqua River in Elkton on Friday. The Sheriff s Office is recommending people avoid the area. Officials have checked the area...
0.7K - Aug. 27, 2009; scored 693.0 What's that smell?
Question: There is a very strong odor of sewage in the area just past the Shinglehouse Bridge, going south on Highway 101. Is there a sewage plant in that area? This is not to be confused with a low tide mudflat odor. This is definitely sewage. Ans...
1.3K - Aug. 18, 2009; scored 205.0 Toxin disposal could lift rates
The state wants Coos and Curry counties to build a hazardous waste disposal site, but people who use garbage service will have to cover the cost. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality created the plan to reduce the harmful health and environ...
2.6K - Aug. 15, 2009; scored 258.0 Reliance on locally made biodiesel increases
PORTLAND Pulling up to the pump in a diesel car or rig? In Oregon from now on, a small portion of the fill-up will be soybean squeezings or recycled cooking grease. Biodiesel production has reached a level in Oregon that triggered a mandate from th...
4.5K - Aug. 10, 2009; scored 456.0 Pollution case results in indictment
PORTLAND Federal officials have indicted one of the largest manufacturers of formaldehyde in the nation and a North Bend man on charges of dumping hazardous waste in a volcanic cinder cone in Oregon. Dennis Beetham and his company, D.B. Western Inc...
2.7K - Aug. 7, 2009; scored 296.0 Glitch dumps 5,000 gallons of sewage
Coquille city officials say a computer malfunction or power failure is to blame for a sewage treatment plant mishap that dumped about 5,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Coquille River at river mile 24 Sunday morning. The malfunction caused a pump s...
0.7K - Jul. 27, 2009; scored 181.0 State finds 572 ingredients in soil
EUGENE (AP) The second annual report on Oregon pesticide use is likely to be the last. Just as the report from the Department of Agriculture went to press, the program was cut as a casualty of state budget problems. The state of Oregon absorbed 19 ...
3.3K - Jul. 13, 2009; scored 337.0 State to start paint recycling program
SALEM (AP) A statewide paint recycling program could begin as soon as January under a recently passed bill the governor is expected to sign. The four-year pilot project will make recycling more convenient throughout the state, particularly in areas...
0.6K - Jul. 8, 2009; scored 181.0 Judge fines former Port of Astoria director
ASTORIA (AP) - The former director of the Port of Astoria has been sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine and spend a year on probation for a Clean Water Act violation stemming from the 2005 dredging season. Peter Gearin, who pleaded guilty in Febru...
1.8K - Jun. 30, 2009; scored 248.0 PGE told to tighten Boardman emissions
PORTLAND (AP) - The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission has approved tougher rules that may require Portland General Electric to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more than planned to clean up pollution at its Boardman coal-fired plant. The d...
3.0K - Jun. 24, 2009; scored 375.0 Biomass bounty
COOS BAY - The only evidence most people see of slash - the tops and limbs of trees left over after logging - are pillars of smoke rising off logging landings in the fall. Some local timber industry folks see something more valuable going up in smoke...
6.4K - Jun. 20, 2009; scored 521.0 Bandon hikes rates to cover operations
BANDON Bandon residents will pay an average of $3 more per month for sewage treatment starting July 1. The extra revenue will ensure the sewer system can continue to operate and be maintained in accordance with Department of Environmental ...
2.4K - Jun. 18, 2009; scored 215.0 | 
